Die To Save You
by bored-piper
Summary: In a fight gone wrong, Raven was forced into another dimension. Now with nothing to help her but blind trust, her own power, and four superheros working hard to bring her back; she must decide what to do in this war torn world. Rating may be subject to change.
1. 1) There's No Going Back

A/N

_Italics_ will be thoughts of a character, usually Raven unless specified otherwise, or a monologue for longer blocks of writing.

This is the first chapter of a story that I'm currently rewriting. Due to the fact that I may (but will hopefully not) get distracted or begin to dislike the story and put it on hiatus, I invite and encourage anybody to write their own take on the story. Maybe it would just use the same characters, or it could be a different opinion on how something should have happened. I don't know if many will, but I think it would be interesting to see it happen.

Possible Yuri / torture scene in later chapters; nothing too extreme in my own opinion. And nothing that's worse than in the original of this "A Bird in the Holly"(don't read it, it sucks. There's no better way to put it. And much of it will/has been cut out or changed)

I don't own Teen Titans or A:tla, unless I win a couple lotteries and buy them, in which case I don't have to post that disclaimer…so if I do become rich, you'll know.

* * *

**~Raven, monologue**

_Interdimensional travel, it's a subject that I don't know a great deal about. Although I suppose others would not think that, considering that half of my family was made up of interdimensional demons. That being said, it should also be noted that while I can travel between dimensions, it is a skill I've only used once. During my childhood in Azarath I would become bored in between my studies and meditating. Loathing the place because of how restricting it was to me, yet almost grateful because I knew that without those monks, I would have become somebody, no, some__**thing**__, very different from what I am now. Regardless, the only time I've used my ability to travel between dimensions was to escape from Azarath. And in truth, I did not know where I would end up. I figured my best shot would be an empty dimension, devoid of life. That way I hoped I could not bring harm to anybody. As you already know, I had no such luck._

_What I'm attempting to say here is that while I can travel between dimensions, I have very little control over it. It took nearly a half of a lifetime for Trigon to control where he went, and he had the luxury of not caring where he ended up when he was figuring it out (along with a few hundred more years of a life span). Traveling like this required me to release more of my demon side than I ever had before that. While it was dangerous to release that much of my demon self, I had expected the danger and prepared myself as best I could. My greatest fear, now concerning dimensional travel, seems rather trivial. Yet after arriving on Earth, getting lost was a major factor in my silent vow to never travel like that again. I have a home now. And now I have the closest thing to a family that I could ever have. If I ever were to travel dimensions again and run the high chance of getting lost, I would be chancing all of that. To gamble that is something I do not think I could do, no matter the consequences to myself._

_That is, unless I had no choice in the matter._

* * *

**~Titan's world**

"TITANS GO!" was the familiar call from Robin, as the team swept in to action against the new villain occupying Jump City. The Professor is what the underground has dubbed him. He was an average looking man, with nothing distinguishing except for his thick eyeglasses and balding head. His suit was a dark purple robe with a red trim. Simple, yet it almost radiated his arrogance. Robin had hoped the battle would not last long. During fights with new villains, the team had to take chances, gambles to see how the villain would react, and where his weaknesses were. They had to stick out their necks a bit further for him, to see what he would do.

As the team continued their assault; Raven stepped back for a moment, believing the rest of the team had things under control for the moment. She edged closer to examine the machine that the Professor was building. It was a large metallic disk, roughly five feet in diameter. Standing vertical, it was a foot or so higher than her, and as wide as she could stretch her arms out. This was due in part to the machines triangular base raising it over a foot, and the control box with just a few switches on it that was sloppily welded to the side on the disk

After almost forty-five minutes of evading the Titan's attacks and keeping them at bay with small, but ineffective explosives, he was finally cornered against his own machine. The Professor had not proven to be a particularly difficult battle, but definitely an annoying one for the Titans. The ideal battle, if there was such a thing, was to have the criminal subdued within the first five to ten minutes of the Titans' arrival. This was mostly in effort to minimize the risk of the team members getting hurt and damage to the city.

The Professor, however, had focused on keeping them away and had not used any weapons strong enough to seriously harm any of them. To Robin, it seemed like he was buying time; keeping the team occupied with him, but not allowing either side to gain the upper hand.

"Give up now and come easily" demanded the weary leader, eager to get back to the tower and rest before filing a report.

"Well now, it's not like I have a huge choice in this, do I?" said the Professor, becoming a bit hysterical. "It really is a pity to see this end, Robin. I was hoping for something grander than this wee warehouse. Anyhow, this all should still serve as a good test for my device."

Robin was unable to respond before the Professor pushed his fingers against a button taped on the inside of his wrist. The silver disk soon crackled to life, and began emitting purple bolts of energy that seemed to flow through the room. Robin, startled by the sudden activity of the disk, took his eyes off the Professor for a fraction of a second, allowing him to tackle Robin. The two struggled on the floor for a few seconds until Raven, who was the closest at the time, ran forward and used her powers to pull the Professor off from Robin.

Raven did not see the bolt of energy leap from the disk to her, nor did she remember falling to the floor immediately after. What she did remember was the ripping feeling, as if a force was trying to pull her organs from her. She had experienced this only once before; during her escape from Azarath to Earth. It was now a reminder to her; telling Raven what she would lose when the transfer was over. The first people she could call her family, her home along with it. Those were the reasons that she silently promised herself never to try dimensional travel again.

And in a distant, insane voice, she could hear the Professor:

"Ooh my, it's working so well, and look!...It has even selected a living subject. Wonder if this one will make it through, I can't say the mice did!" exclaimed the professor as he clasped his hands in joy. Only to be cut off shortly after by a swift punch from Robin.

The Titans never had a chance to stop it. Cyborg, who was standing just feet from Raven moments before, had tried to pull her back from the machine. But before he could get close to her, he felt the energy course through his outstretched arm, frying his circuitry. He could feel it slowly creep closer to his motherboard, and had it not been for Beast Boy, who charged him and knocked Cyborg clear away from the machine, Cyborg may not have been functioning very much longer.

Robin silently vowed to bring Raven back. He watched the authorities drag the Professor back into their van. After hearing how his machine essentially vaporized their team member, and a brief call from the mayor, it was decided he would not go on trial until Raven was brought back.

_If she came back_ Robin thought briefly.

He knew he couldn't think like that. He had to stay optimistic, for the team's sake at the very least. But his training with Batman had taught him to expect the very worst. He had to prepare himself for if she didn't come back, he had to prepare the team.

However, that didn't mean that the Professor wouldn't be seeing him again. Come tomorrow, he decided, he would visit him in his cell. If he didn't talk then, hewould come the next day, and the next…

* * *

**~A:tla World**

A lone carriage bounced along the dirt road. In the back was Zuko, on his journey back from the Fire Nation capital. After telling his father of the Avatars recent return, Zuko and his uncle, who was driving the carriage, were now en route to the dock where his ship was under repairs. His father had given him barely enough time to finish the repairs; he had to be out of Fire Nation waters in four days.

"Zuko" Iroh said from the driver's bench.

"Zuko!" he repeated.

"What is it Uncle?" he said, clearly irritated he was woken up.

"There's a body in the road."

"Then move it."

"Shouldn't we at least take them to the nearest town?"

"You mean the town that we passed two hours ago? It's too far."

"But Zuko, we cannot just leave her!"

"She's probably not alive, just move her off the road."

"Very well" Iroh said, dejected at the chance of having somebody to talk to taken away; but still relived at being able to stretch his tired legs.

The girl had very pale skin and a deep purple cloak covered her entire body, save the head and a foot that poked out the side of the cloak. He grunted slightly when he moved her to the side, by no means because of her weight, but possibly his. The girl's eyes fluttered for a second when he was finished dragging her.

"Uncle! We're behind schedule already."

"Do have patience, just a moment now." He yelled back. Feeling bad for leaving the girl he tied a small leather pouch onto her hand.

She had passed out again by the time the carriage had left.

* * *

Many hours later, Raven began to regain consciousness slowly at first. She began to feel the cold ground beneath her. A woman, about her age, was brewing tea over the fire. Her belt was laying on the dirt ground an arm's length away from her.

"Good, you're awake." Said the woman as she looked up. "My name is Holly; I suppose you're not from around here."

She was wearing torn red pants, made out of a rough canvas, along with a loose fitting shirt. Some bandages wrapped around her left arm, just below her shoulder. She had a rather worn look in her eyes, but very alert none the less. Raven could not see the scars that crisscrossed her body beneath her clothing, or the few on her arms in the dim light

"No" Raven said just above a whisper, her throat dry and coated with dust.

Holly leaned forward and pressed a cup of tea to her lips, tipping it slightly for her to drink. Raven reached forward to take the cup, but her hand only rose a few inches before falling back onto her lap.

"Wow, you're still able to move." The woman said, thinking to herself. "I gave you a drugged tea when I found you, took almost three times the normal dose to stop you from moving." She further explained.

Raven tried to move her arm again, but to no avail. _A paralysis drug._ She glared at her, not being able to do much else in her human form.

"You must understand. I don't intend to harm you. But if I trusted everybody I found on a roadside, I'd probably be dead by now."

"So where is here anyway?" Raven asked, holding nothing against the other woman. It was logical, after all.

_What a stupid question, it's not like I would know anyway._

"The Fire Nation, right now we're just under a day's walk to the sea, if nothing interrupts the journey. So where are you from?"

"Jump City, it's…very far away"

"Are you on your way back home then?"

"It isn't quite that simple, I don't think I can go back right now."

_If it's a friendly dimension, staying can't hurt, hopefully that machine wasn't random, and it can be replicated; probably not though. Best I get to another dimension, maybe one with technology, if this one proves to be dangerous._

"So where will you be heading tomorrow?" Raven asked, seeing that they were in a very rough tent, and not likely to stay in it for more than a night.

"South, to the shore, then I'll have to find a way to cross the sea and hopefully be heading east." She responded with surprising openness. "You're welcome to tag along, but I can't guarantee your safety."

"It would be appreciated if I could."

"Sure, but as a fair warning: I'm not exactly liked in these parts."

"I can take care of myself."

_Assuming this hasn't drained my powers, best if she doesn't know about them yet though._

Raven thumbed the small leather pouch, still tied loosely to her wrist, before drifting off to sleep in this strange world.

* * *

A/N

Much thanks to my beta reader, I wonder who actually reads these? Regardless, R&R!


	2. 2) Rude Awakenings

Very sorry for the update gap, i was really bored last year and decided to fill my schedule as much as i could this year, not expecting to continue with this. next chapter is coming soon(ish) too. much thanks, R&R!

Remember Thoughts are _italics. _they will usually be Raven's unless its specified. Horizontal lines are usually skipping ahead in time, or scene change, context is key.

Reiterating the last chapters offer, if anybody has an idea on what will happen next or how something should have gone, write it! my hope is to have one story with multiple people's different takes on it. or you could PM the idea to me (or leave it in a review) and if i think i can use it i will.

Bored-piper doesn't own TT or A:tla, if he did, he wouldn't be bored. 

* * *

It was just before dusk when Raven woke up the next morning, she slept nearly a full nine hours; a rare event for Raven when she usually only slept four or five a night. The other girl wasn't in the tent. Without her new acquaintance being present, Raven decided to see if her powers had been affected by the Professor's machine. She levitated the leather pouch off of her wrist. _At least my powers still work; I shouldn't be a liability then. _

She slowly worked the knot out of the draw strings on the bag, levitating it a few inches off the ground as she did so.

"So where are you really from?"

Startled, Raven tensed, releasing the bag suddenly and letting it fall to the ground.

_How did she sneak up on me? Nobody has done that in years._

"Like I said, 'very far away' would be the best way to describe it." Raven said defensively.

"Well that's the thing; we have our world pretty well mapped. I don't know of any place called Jump City. I also know that what you were doing, floating leather, isn't any type of bending.

_Crap. Wait, what's bending?_

"Well, I'm…not exactly from your dimension."

"My what?"

"okay, imagine your world, all the stars, all the other planets you know of. Now imagine them in a box, that box is like a barrier, very few can travel past it."

"And I take it your from outside that box?"

"Yes, it was an accident during a fight with a criminal."

Holly just stood there, deciding what to make of her.

"Alright, get up, if we don't start walking soon we won't make it to the port by night."

"I…wait, you're still letting me go with you?"

"Yes. The only reason I'm alive is because others took a chance, I'd be a hypocrite if I left you here."

Raven only nodded gratefully and picked up the token that fell out of the leather pouch. It had a flower pattern with eight petals, printed in a cream color on a round piece of wood. 

* * *

"Are you sure we should just leave the shelter as is?" Raven asked as they walked along the dusty road.

"Yea, there's a string of hidden shelters along this road leading to the port. Sort of a tradition to stay in one, and then leave it as it was for the next person who needs it. It was started by refugees escaping their villages."

"Refugees?"

"Oh yea, I forgot you didn't know about the war." She said, "Nearly a century ago the Fire Nation committed genocide on the air nomads. Then proceeded to attack the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom, they've been fighting them for close to the last century."

"A century of war?"

"Yep, but enough of that, so what's the world you come from like?"

"Oh, well aside from the technology, it isn't too different from this" _same trees, same air, guess I lucked out again and didn't end up on a toxic planet _"Although some of the people have powers, we call them meta-humans."

"So powers like what you were doing earlier?"

"Well, every person's a bit different, like…" _I don't think she would understand Cyborg, what could I compare to that… _she looked at the ground _Terra! Surely she could connect to that._

"Well, a former team mate of ours used to be able to control the earth, to an extent."

Holly smiled, "So you have earth benders there."

"Sure" Raven said, knowing that the two were probably different, but not wanting to discuss it further. 

* * *

The two continued to familiarize each other to these new worlds for the next few hours, making time seem to pass much faster than it really was. They talked until high noon, where they stopped to rest at a small lake just off the roadside.

"So the group that you're returning to, the Kyoshi Warriors, they've protected the island for the entire war?"

"Much longer than that, ever since the Avatar created the island. Close to three centuries ago."

Raven didn't respond, she rarely talked more than a few sentences at a time back on Earth, and now her throat was almost as dry as the rocks she was leaning against. She walked to the water and kneeled down to sip from the lake.

"I wouldn't drink that."

"Why not?"

"Umm, it's not boiled?"

Raven knelt down to drink anyway, her immune system was possibly the only thing she didn't mind about her demonic half. She was still drinking when Holly heard the distinct sound of metal against the tough hide of a komodo rhino. It was a sound she knew far too well.

"Hey Rave, how long can you hold your breath?" her voice a hoarse whisper.

"I'm not sur-" Raven said as she finished quenching her thirst. Holly then quickly shoved her into the water; following behind her as quietly as possible. As Raven tried to surface again, Holly clasped her hand over her mouth and, pinching her nose too, clung onto a few the two submerged. 

* * *

A few moments later and within a stone's throw away…

"Hey Lt., how much longer before our patrol ends?" yelled a soldier to his comrade a couple strides away.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your voice down? We're supposed to be looking for the escapee, not alerting her. We'll turn back after this, I think we already went past our search quadrant anyway." He said, unwrapping some bread from the saddlebag of the komodo rhino that he had tied the reigns to a tree. He sat down on the same rock Raven had been leaning against moments before and began to eat. The other prison guard strode over to the water and sat down. Found great comfort as the cool water rose and fell along his tired legs.

Just below the water, Raven had started to thrash and struggle against Holly; Raven never expected to be pushed into the water and, aside from being very pissed, was quickly running out of oxygen. As her struggling continued, Holly only tightened her grip around Raven's waist. She stopped thrashing when she saw the outline of the soldier above her, with his feet hanging just below the waterline. Now she knew why she was pushed into the water, and what Holly had meant by being "not exactly liked" in this place.

Holly had hoped Raven had taken a breath before being pushed in. But now that she was running out of air faster than she had anticipated, she knew she didn't.

Thinking fast, she turned Raven to face her and pressed her lips hard against the other woman's.

…_what in Azar's name…? _

Knowing that Raven would be out of air very soon, she exhaled and forced what air she could into the other woman. She led Raven's hand to the roots she was gripping on to stay submerged, released her new friend, and pushing off of the lake's bottom, she propelled herself towards the surface.

Raven, who was still unsure of what had just happened, gripped the roots tightly and thought:

_That's suicide, we don't even know how many there are._

Holly had only heard one rhino, which usually meant only two or three men at most. Trusting only what she had heard was a huge gamble to take, for all she knew there could have been a dozen men waiting.

But there wasn't.

Just the two; and their numbers were quickly halved when Holly dragged the man on the edge of the lake into the water, and rendered him unconscious with an elbow to his temple.

One man left, and no more than a minute before Raven would run out of air again.

A dense blast of fire came at her and she dove back into the water to avoid it. Surprise had been with her at first, but now she was at a disadvantage. The fire bender knew who she was, where she was, and that wherever she surfaced, he could see her and attack. Raven could only look up at the events going on above. She felt more like the audience and the traveling circus she went to once. Not willingly, of course. Beast Boy and Cyborg had gotten Starfire excited about it, and once Star asked you to go somewhere, it was very hard to say no.

_Dammit, I can't think of that. Not now, not here. _She silently scolded herself. Looking up again she could see her friend clinging onto the edge of the rock shelf that ran below the surface.

_Well, guess I should prove I'm not a liability._

Raven formed an obsidian sphere in her palm, to ensure again that her magic had not been affected by the past day's events. Satisfied that it hasn't, she looked up again to see the shadow of the attacker. Her eyes were getting irritated by opening them, but she knew she had one chance to hit him. If she missed, he could flee and warn others before Raven would even be able to attack again; probably before she could even catch a needed breath of air. She condensed the sphere to even smaller a size and, placing the outline of the man in the area between her thumb and next finger, she released the sphere and sent it flying towards him.

The leg. That's where she hit him, not a very good aim for where she was hoping, but enough to count. The escapee that the prison guards were searching for was known to be dangerous, but not a bender. The man stumbled back toward his rhino and collapsed to one knee when Raven and Holly surfaced, both gasping for air.

"So that's what you meant by defending yourself." Holly said, ducking quickly to dodge a fireball from the wounded man not far away.

Raven was still gasping for air, but had enough energy to hold back his arms with obsidian ropes. Stumbling over to the man, Holly rendered him unconscious with another blow to the temple.

"C'mon Rave, I think we found a ride." She said as she mounted the rhino and offered a hand to the other woman. 

* * *

It's been close to five hours since the fight. The two were still riding on the backs of the komodo rhino they had recently 'acquired'. Raven was now in front, she had offered to switch a few hours ago when Holly began to drift off to sleep and almost ran them into an irrigation ditch, much to Raven's surprise. With the dried land and desperate heat, it was hard to imagine anything could grow in this region, let alone that there was an ocean nearby. As they rounded the crest of the next hill, Raven could see the port city in the distance.

Raven shifted her weight slightly to make herself a bit more comfortable in the saddle. Holly had fallen asleep leaning forward and resting on Raven's back, but she was reluctant to move her despite being like that for the better part of three hours.

_She did save my life after all; although I do wonder why she picked me up to start with. Considering what's already happened, it must've been at a great risk to her to take in a complete stranger. In fact if she hadn't picked me up, she probably would already be on a ship heading home. _Raven looked back at the girl, her head was turned to the left and resting just below Raven's left shoulder. Her arms had become looped around Raven's waist with a tight grip to keep from being bumped off the rhino. _Hmm, I guess I don't mind this, besides - she's kind of cute like that. Wonder why that bandage is on her arm, she didn't seem hurt at all before._

Raven didn't want to wake her when they went into town, but knowing it was inevitable, she guided the animal to the side of the road._ I doubt it's a good idea to ride a stolen animal into the town._ She pried Holly's hands apart and dismounted from the rhino, letting the other girl fall forward against the saddle with a soft thud.

"You could've caught me" She said, now very much awake.

"But I didn't. The port is within walking distance; figured we wouldn't want to ride a stolen animal into the town."

"Stolen? If I remember he let us borrow it."

"Either way, are we going to go into the town tonight, or in the morning?"

"Trying tonight can't hurt, better to stay ahead of the news as much as possible too."

_I forgot that most of the news here is carried by messengers, interesting. You could never travel 'ahead' of the news back on Earth. Not in the modern day at least._

* * *

The two walked into town and, after passing by many closed stores, eventually found a tavern. The lantern above their door did little to light up more than just their sign, which had an eight pedaled flower on it. The tavern was well worn on the inside and much smaller than it appeared to be. Aside from the bartender there was only one other man, heavier, and probably in his sixties.

"Looking for a drink fellows?" the bartender asked, eyeing the two oddly dressed newcomers.

"Don't suppose you know where I could find a boat to rent tonight?" Holly spoke up, approaching the bar.

"Whew, it'd be tough this time of night. Be easier to wait 'till morning"

"We're in a bit of a situation, can we get one tonight?"

The bartender gave a halfhearted laugh. "You'll probably have to pay double than normal to get one then. But if you really want, there should still be a few workers down at the docks."

"You do know we don't have any money to rent a boat, right?" asked Raven as they walked back into the street.

"Yup."

"You meant steal, didn't you?"

"Steal? That's such a harsh term; I prefer 'borrowing indefinitely'"

Raven rolled her eyes and tried to change the subject "Hey, does this have any value?" she asked as she untied the pouch from her belt. "It was tied to me when I woke up, don't know where it came from though."

Holly looked down at the token and, with a grin, turned back and started off toward the tavern again.

"Wait, so it's worth something?" Raven called out, quickening her pace to keep up with her.

Holly had already entered the building and didn't hear her.

"You find your boat that fast?" the bartender said jokingly at the two who had just left moments ago.

"Depends," Holly responded, placing the token on the counter.

The bartender glanced at the elder man at the bar, and received a quick nod in return.

"Ah, the White Lotus." He beaconed for Raven, who was standing by the doorway, to come closer. "It means that you might have a boat tonight; depends where you're going."

"The Southern Seas?"

The bartender looked down, "You'd need a ship for that, not just a boat. Besides, very few will give you a lift into Earth Kingdom."

"It's to Kyoshi, shouldn't be too much of an issue." She responded. Kyoshi had tried very hard to maintain its neutrality throughout the war, officially at least. Although it has been made rather clear that the Fire Nation was not a friend of theirs.

"You mean you haven't heard? The Fire Lord cut ties with that island two weeks ago. A few hours ago some sailors were sayin' that they were going to raid it every week until it falls."

"The more the reason for me to get back."

"Alright, but it's foolish if you ask me." He turned to the other man, "Aren't you and your nephew heading south?"

"Ah yes, there's a rumor going around about Whale Tail Island he wants to check out." The older man said. "Leave midday tomorrow if the repairs are finished."

_That voice. I know that voice…_

"It would be appreciated, if it's not too much trouble." Holly said.

The older man gave a wide smile. "It's never a trouble to help a friend in need." He stood up and began walking toward the door. "Dock three, by the way. Try to be there sooner than later."

Holly bowed, and motioned for Raven to do the same.

"Good, I'm afraid I can't let you stay here tonight though; neighbors get suspicious easily." The bartender told them.

"Thank you for the help." They said as they walked out. 

* * *

"So where do we sleep?" Raven asked, fearing the answer.

"I don't know, pick an ally."

* * *

Hey look! A review button!


	3. 3) No Pain, No Gain

A/N sorry for any small mistakes, posted this later at night and it was annoying me so I probably missed some things.

_Italics _are character thoughts, mostly Raven's unless specified / implied

I dont own TT or A:TLA, because if I did I would try to make it much more discreet when ripping off ideas from things I see.

R&R!

* * *

They both woke up within minutes of each other the next morning. Most likely because of a nearby fight that was brewing and had caused quite a commotion. They had slept sitting upright, leaning against the other's back because neither of them cared much for lying on the ground. It was already nearing noon, and the port was busy with ships coming and departing; a constant cycle of loading, and unloading cargo for the workers. The vast majority of them were carrying cargo, with a half dozen small fishing trawlers and a lone warship; A small one at that, but still formidable in battle.

Holly stood and, stretching her arms and back, looked up at the sky to where the clouds covered the sun. "Under an hour until noon, should probably head for the docks."

Raven stood up and looked around, the memories of where she was slowly coming back to her. "Sure" She said, still tired but not in the mood to disagree. The two started walking away from the dock and looped back toward it a block later, in order to avoid the brawl that was sure to come. At this point, getting arrested would be among the worst things that could happen. Holly internally cringed when she saw dock three, with the warship high in the water. Of course the man would be on that ship. That damned ship, the only one that would kill her if they knew who she was. Most other ships on the port, especially the merchant ships, didn't care too much. To them, business with a man of different color clothing was still business, so long as they weren't in a military uniform. The two walked past a few of the small outdoor shops, when Raven spotted the man from the bar buying a stack of tea leaves from a vender.

"So, what kind of tea did you buy?" Holly asked as she approached him.

"Ah, it's their local specialty! Although I forgot the name" he responded with a chuckle. "Good to see you made it; I do apologize for not introducing myself yesterday. My name is Iroh." He stepped past Holly and shook Raven's hand. "I see you put it to good use." He said referring to the White Lotus token.

_So that's why he seemed familiar._

He looked over at Holly; "The Kyoshi Warriors are good people, and they protect their own." He said in a very hushed voice, "At least, I assume that is what you are?"

She didn't answer him, she couldn't. It was hard to consider a person 'good' nowadays, and she knew that she was very far from that. Still, it was rare to see a Fire Nation citizen that was able to see both sides of the war. Of course, it wasn't their fault that many believe the other nations are evil. It's something that has been being taught to them young, and ingrained in their lives ever since.

"Regardless, please excuse my nephew if he is rude, he doesn't know you'll be joining us yet." Iroh said after the brief silence.

Before the group boarded the lone warship, they decided to stroll through the shops one more time. The two let Iroh talk most of the time as he explain various items and products unique to the region. While Holly just trailed behind, enjoying the peace while she could, and giving thought to what the upcoming passage on the warship would be: _Spirits only know what the journey on that ship will be like. Iroh seems nice, and doesn't look like the man who takes shortcuts on pleasantries. Granted, we may have to be working in the engine room to receive passage. I wouldn't be opposed to that, done it before just to get home. Raven on the other hand, it isn't her home. That work won't do for her… _

Raven looked over the stalls with a passing interest. She had far more concerns about the events of yesterday. Glancing over at Holly she let her thoughts wander: _She desperately wants to get back to her home, so she probably wasn't away from there willingly. That and she's a couple days journey from where she found me, and I don't even know how long she was traveling before that. So why would a person move across an entire sea and then some, just to try to get back? And with people trying to stop her along the way too, those men on the rhino were uniformed after all. Which means they weren't just bandits, had to be hired or military; and they were looking for her specifically. _

Raven looked back at her again. She was looking at some fabrics at a stall, or at least appearing to be interested. Her eyes, a worn grey, had a faraway look. Honestly, Raven wasn't sure she could get her full attention right now if she wanted to. She silently wondered why, what had this person gone through? Raven, the child of a devil, had no doubt seen awful things; but what happened to this one person to affect her like this? It's not that Raven didn't trust her. No, this woman had saved her life at an extensive risk of her own. Back on Azarath that would be considered a life-debt; where one person would protect the one who had saved their life until they had "paid off" that debt. _Maybe that's why I'm with her. _ Raven though briefly, even though she knew there was really no other place for her to go. _ No, the life debt hasn't been practiced in centuries. It's simply impractical in the modern world. But… this isn't exactly a modern world._

The trio began making their way to the dock when a young man with a top knot and a scar over his eye past them. Raven could've sworn he looked familiar, and quickly pulled up her hood before he turned around. Still, she couldn't place him until he approached Iroh with squared shoulders and n aggravated expression etched in his face.

"Uncle, we set off in ten minutes, where have you been?" He struggled to keep his voice below shouting. _So he was the other one on the carriage _

"Oh, just around the shops, and I've found two friends to accompany us on the way."

"I told you to talk to me before you do that! Look, just make sure they don't get in the way; and if the second one isn't here soon, we're leaving anyway." _The one that wanted to abandon me_

Raven and Iroh looked back to see Holly missing.

"Oh, it won't be more than a few minutes, just be patient now." Iroh said easily as the young man rushed off, pushing past the throng of people around the shops as he went.

The two waited for a moment in silence until he was well out of sight, Raven scanning the crowd for her, but Iroh was just looking through his new purchases.

"You can come out now." He said to seemingly nobody. But a moment later Holly was standing at their side.

"How did you…?" Raven never finished that sentence.

"Stealth is something we learned very young." She interrupted.

"I see," Said Iroh, noticing her clothes "You were right to hide, he would have noticed a prisoners outfit immediately. Although I don't know how we will get onto the ship without incident because of that."

_She was a prisoner? That would explain a lot. Getting captured and moved forcibly across the sea. But her, a criminal? The same kind I had fought back on Earth for years? No, it can't be. She had saved my life. Ah yes, the war. It must be because of that. She's a criminal in the eyes of the Fire Nation, but only them. I suppose she's more of a hero to me._

Iroh was scanning the shops from where he stood, but with no success. The venders here could only sell cloth, which would then be sent to factories to make the clothing. He looked at Raven again and realized what he could do. Yes, sometimes the simple solutions really are the best.

"Raven, would you be kind enough to lend her your cloak?"

It was a simple switch, with Holly covering her distinguishing clothes with ease and Raven, while not much to her approval, still being able to board the ship. Despite the calls from deckhands who assumed she had a price. After all, leotards weren't as commonplace in this antiquated world.

_Never assume, might get you killed. _She thought to a group of the sailors on the deck. She knew she had been anger loose a bit more than she should have recently. But at least nothing was said aloud. No harm done, yet.

The trio stepped down below decks and, after taking a few turns, arrived at Iroh's room.

"Down the hall and to the left is your room. It will be three nights and two days until we reach Whale Tail Island, and from there you should be able to catch a ferry. I, ah, suggest you don't go up on deck for the rest of the day. It seems my nephew isn't in the best of spirits. Do forgive him though; it's a troubled time for all of us." He nodded briefly and gave a wide smile before retreating into his room.

Their room was small, probably meant to only hold one person originally. Fitted with a bunk bed and a small shelf and painted a dreadful grey. Their dinner, along with some clothes close to Holly's size, was delivered by Iroh a few hours after they had left the harbor. Two cups of his new tea and some small bowls of rice was their only meal that day, although Holly ended up giving the tea to Raven and did not finish her rice. The two entertained themselves the rest of the night by sharing stories of each other's home world.

* * *

The next day Raven woke up early and followed Iroh up to the main deck. In the fresh morning air he taught her the basics of Pai Sho, while Holly would sleep very heavily until midday. Aside from brief rain showers later in the day, the time passed with relatively good weather; and by the last full day on the ship, Iroh's nephew had come down to the deck and introduced himself. Zuko had not been rude, nor did he appear to be a harsh person beneath the façade he had put up. Maybe blunt would be a better word for him. Iroh, Raven supposed, was right. He was just troubled, for what reasons though, she could not grasp. Their third night on the ship, the night before they departed for Whale Tail Island, Raven told Holly of the many planets in her universe, and the different environments that were on a few on them. As midnight drew closer, a lone hawk flew toward the warship.

* * *

"Ensign!" Zuko yelled at the nearest person he could see in the ship's bridge. "Fetch my Uncle, now!" Zuko reread the paper clutched in his hands as the messenger hawk stood on a nearby table.

The ensign didn't respond, but started climbing down the ladder as fast he could. The captain wasn't happy, not an uncommon occurrence; but it was not a time argue with him, only to do as he says when he gives you an order.

* * *

"Yes Zuko?" Iroh asked, thankful he hadn't fallen back asleep before the ensign had come to his room.

"What is this?" he shoved the scroll of parchment from the messenger hawk in front of him.

"A wanted poster."

"For whom?"

"Two women it looks like."

"Ugh." Zuko spun around and punched the wall out of frustration; thankfully opening his fist before it hit so he didn't break his fingers.

"You can't just pick up random people anymore! They're criminals. If they make it to the island they'll be gone, and we'll be as marked traitors!"

"Traitors isn't too far from what we are right now." He said grimly.

Zuko just grunted and left the bridge. He would solve this himself.

* * *

Holly had been sitting up in her bed when the sailor rushed past their door. In fact, she hadn't gotten more than three hours of sleep that night, due to one of her reoccurring nightmares. That's why, the nights she wasn't plagued by them, she usually slept close to twelve hours if she wasn't interrupted. Those nights have slowly been dwindling.

She had heard Iroh's conversation and gently shook Raven awake. The two had waited a minute for the messenger and Iroh to pass by until they burst through the door and began running to the spiral staircase.

Luck was not on their side that night.

They ran square into Zuko, dressed in full armor and an enraged expression clung to his face.

Zuko let loose a blast of fire, despite being in the close quarters of the spiral stairwell. As it came, Holly pushed Raven down a few steps and turned to use her back as a shield against the flames. The fire burnt away much of her kimono with ease and bit into her skin. The stench of burnt flesh brought back unpleasant memories to Raven; memories of her past, but now was not the time to dwell, she scolded herself. With severe burns on her back, Holly reached forward and, pulling him towards her, shoved him down the remaining stairs. Using his top heavy weight from to the armor to throw him off balance, he lost precious time trying to catch himself from falling. The two ran up the stairs to the upper deck, the fresh salty air aggravating the new wound on her back. Through many years of "experiences" she had grown accustomed to pain, but by no means immune. With years of training and the high amount of adrenaline coursing through her, she just clenched her fist and fought through it. They ran to the aft of the ship, having few other options. It was then they realized their situation. They were surrounded by water, and trapped with a madman bent on killing them, probably for good reasons too.

Zuko had come out of the hatch leading below decks less than a minute after they had. He too had seen their predicament.

The wanted poster said the criminals weren't benders; but Zuko knew how easily fooled the soldiers could be when giving reports. Besides, Zuko figured, any earth bender here would be useless on a metal ship, and the only water benders who could pose a threat to him were far in the northern water tribe.

Shooting two long streams of fire to his sides, he cornered the duo to the remaining aft section of the ship's deck. He said:

"You have two options. Either you come without a fight or you can take your chances. I'd prefer the later."

_Damn psychopath_

"Hey Hol," Raven said through clenched teeth. "How cold do you think the water is?"

"One way to find out." She said with a grin.

She grabbed Ravens wrist so they wouldn't lose each other in the darkness of night and, with one final breath, the two threw themselves backward and over the low railing and into the churning sea.

"Wha…" he let loose a scream of frustration. "The spotlights, SOMEBODY GET THE SPOTLIGHTS!" he yelled to nobody, the crew knew not to be on the same deck as him when he was like this.

Zuko could hear the muffled scream Holly had let loose when the icy salt water contacted her wound.

_Nobody can survive the night in the sea. Open wound and freezing water._ Zuko thought to himself. He then turned and marched to his cabin to write up the report, on how had confronted a dangerous criminal and her accomplice; and how they had taken their own lives just before they were captured.

* * *

Holly had passed out from the pain when she hit the salt water, still gripping Raven's wrist almost painfully tight. She never saw Raven form a disk of obsidian beneath her and levitate them out of the water. Nor felt Raven swiftly rip away the soaked kimono, revealing the wound on her back. There was only one deep burn, a foot long and several inches wide, stretching diagonally across her upper back; but the surrounding area did not escape damage earlier. Raven's eyes wandered from the singed edge of the cloth wrapped around her chest to the lower portion of her back. She was taken aback by the amount of scars crisscrossing her back. Many very thin ones climbed upwards and under the cloth, with a few of the heavier ones continuing past it and snaking up along her back. She unconsciously traced one of them with her finger. _And I thought I had seen what hell was like._ She snapped back to reality and wrapped her blue cloak around Holly, knowing it was dry and, unlike the wet kimono, would hold in the heat instead of suck it away from her.

_Thank goodness Robin had us waterproof everything _she thought, remembering a particularly bad fight during their first weeks of defending Jump City. They had all ended up in the bay save for Beast Boy, who had reminded them about it for weeks once they had all come down with the common cold.

She felt guilty as Holly moaned from the pain. Healing, like everything else, had its limits and took time to do; and right now her priorities were preventing hypothermia and getting onto solid ground.

* * *

Just under an hour and a half later, Raven began descending down to a secluded shore on the eastern tip of what she hoped was Whale Tail Island. She had already passed a large portion of the same island minutes not long before, but decided against landing when she saw soldiers dressed in green tunics heavily populating the island. She wasn't sure if they were friendly or not, but wouldn't dare take that chance.

* * *

After walking the floating platform into the relative safety of the woods, she lowered her friend, back facing up, onto the ground. Kneeling beside her, she began the lengthy process of healing the burns. Holly awoke shortly after the she started:

"Where are we?"

"Not a clue. That island the ship was heading for I think."

"Oh" she said, she clenched her teeth when Raven removed the cloak as gently as she could without tearing the skin that had dried onto to it.

She reached to unravel the linen bandages around Holly's arm when Holly, with a bust of energy, turned to her side pushing her wrist away from the area; she glared at Raven and looked away with a small grunt, from the pain that moving had brought.

"I was just trying to heal it" Raven said, but silently doubting there was anything under it at all.

"It can't be healed." Holly responded bitterly, as she slumped back down onto the dry earth.

"Okay…I won't be able to heal all of this at once; it'll take one, maybe two more sessions."

"This is already more than I could ask for." She said gratefully, gazing at the horizon where the sun would soon rise from.

Raven sighed and started healing the woman before her.

_I've been in this world what, three days now? or has it been four? Either way, I've only really met two people: Iroh and her. Those soldiers and the bartender don't count - don't even know their names. Zuko though? I really only met him yesterday for an hour when he came down to the deck; seemed nice enough then, but not the other times, definitely not that last time._

* * *

The better part of an hour passed with Raven doing what she could to stop the bleeding and prevent further infection. Dawn would be coming soon, and if they didn't leave before it came, they would have to stay until the next night; or else run the high risk of being seen as they left the island. Holly, Raven knew, was in no condition to stay in the dirt any more than she already had. Raven drew her hands away from Holly's back and stopped the healing process for the time being.

She woke up a few minutes later to Raven cutting the kimono into long strips to use as bandages for her back. After applying them as best she could, Raven formed another disk next to her and helped Holly to get up and sit on the edge of it.

_Don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep expending my energy like this, haven't meditated in what seems like an eternity, especially with all the recent changes. _

She grimaced a bit, not looking forward to the next time she meditated, knowing that her emotions would hate her for neglecting them for so long.

* * *

Holly looked up from the edge of the disk, gazing at the few remaining stars as they became slowly washed away by the coming dawn.

"Umm, yea, well Kyoshi should be east of here, or maybe south. There isn't really enough stars out to tell." Raven rolled her eyes at this.

"Then we'll go southeast, just point the way."

"Well I also can't tell which way north is."

"You're kidding me." Raven said to herself.

"What? I can't know everything!"

"Fine." Raven said as she lifted the platform higher and started heading in the opposite direction that the ship came into the islands port.

* * *

**Flashback:**

Suki was staring at a man dressed as a Fire Nation lieutenant. A rather short man actually. To be fair he was just under an inch shorter than Suki, and maybe 30 years older. The raiding party that day had let a small party off on the other side of the mountain before sailing into the main harbor of the island. Allowing five Warriors to be flanked and the majority of them captured. Suki, glaring at the leader, was curious as to what they would do; considering they only had enough men left to guard one or two prisoners effectively.

"I'll ask you kids again, bring me to leader of the resistance here and no more harm will be done."

He studied the identically painted face of each person in the lineup and gave a small nod at the man next him, who then gave a wave for his men to drag a small boy forward. The boy was part of a small family of merchants who decided to leave the next day instead of just hours before. She recognized him particularly because he almost went swimming in the bay with the Unagi. Despite the multiple warnings they had given him.

Suki had her left foot forward, about to step up and let them take her in exchange for the family's safety. It was her duty to protect the people of this island, and anybody taking shelter on it at the time. That's the code she was taught and trained by, and that is the one she would follow.

"Leave this island and let the merchants to do as they please, I'll go with you for whatever your intentions are." The voice came from behind the soldiers. Suki looked around wildly. She hadn't stepped forward yet, none of them have. The other four in the line were equally as surprised when they saw the speaker. Holly, she was leaning against a tree no more than fifteen feet from the soldiers.

Suki stared in shock with her jaw slack as Lin held her back.

Holly, of all people. She had always acted as more of an outlier. Not to Warriors, she was family to them; but to the villagers. It was because she was the only warrior who wasn't born on the island. She was brought here when she was no older than six when her village was washed away in a flood. Hiroko, the Warrior who brought her back, chose to train her for the next generation. Of course, the decision and her stubbornness about it had not gone over well with the council. In fact, the only reason Holly was trained to be a Kyoshi Warrior was because Hiroko threatened to leave the island if they didn't allow it.

The many questions about her background that had been left unanswered are why most of the villagers don't trust her. Nobody knew what village she came from, or even her birthday. Some weren't even sure if she knew. More than once had the villagers suspected her of trying to snatch a free ride on the island instead of protecting them; or that she was stealing precious food and planning to flee with it one day.

That is why Suki was shocked when Holly had told those soldiers to take her to the prison. She had spent more than a few restless nights pondering the actions of that day. How could Holly subject herself to the horrors of a Fire Nations prison, for people who would think twice about attending her own funeral?

Suki had never asked nor wanted another soul to go in her place.

She could never forgive Holly for doing what she did.

Yet she would be eternally grateful for all that Holly had sacrificed.

It was close to three weeks before they saw Holly again. She went from the merchant ship that she had stowed away on straight to the dojo and fell asleep in her hammock. She woke up hours later to eight annoyed but very relieved faces looking down at her. They replaced her hammock the next day, as some of the ropes were stained in blood.

That was only the second prison Holly had been to, and it would not be her last. The prisons over the years had noticeably changed her. She would never talk about what happened in them, and she began distancing herself further from the group as she returned from each prison. She had stopped swimming with the Warriors on their days off after her second prison, instead preferring to take walks in the valleys or sit on a small hill overlooking the bay.

Despite these changes, what worried Suki the most was when she had asked her why she went in her place:

"Simple really, you've never been to those kinds of prisons before. It kills you, just a little more every time; and without a leader we wouldn't be able to protect this place much longer. But me? I'm rather expendable."

It was more of an answer than Suki expected, more thought out and brutally honest too. Despite Holly basically saying that she wouldn't be able to handle it, Suki never asked her again afterwards. It was probably more of a valid opinion than she would've liked.

She realized many things during those days after Holly returned. Among them, Suki had learned why she really went with the soldiers. Holly wasn't protecting the people. She was protecting the only home she had left.


	4. 4) Welcome To Wherever You Are

Next chapter will probably be a bit late, considering I won't have time to write anything this weekend. Much thanks to reviewers. As I might have mentioned before, my hope for this story is that anybody who likes the idea, or any part of it will pick up from a chapter and write their own version. It's doubtable that it will happen but I think it would be very interesting to see.

I do not own and take no credit for Avatar: The Last Airbender or the Teen Titans, if I did own them I would not be writing this, I would be filming it.

"You mean he escaped!?" Robin tried to restrain himself, but did little to hide his anger at the Prison Warden.

"Well, not quite sir…you see, we don't have any record of him entering the prison." He said, backing away from the teenager.

Robin rushed out of the room and called Cyborg to tell him.

"Yo Robin. We have a bit of a situation here."

"Have one here too. The Professor never went to the prison, I'm about to go to the asylum and check if they mixed it up."

"No need, just come to the Tower."

"Cyborg, our first priority is the Professor, let the police handle anything else."

"Dude, I know. He locked us out of our tower."

"WHAT?"

"Yea, he's staring at me from the roof. Holding up a sign too, but I can't read it from here."

Robin sighed. It was a few days away from a full week since Raven was taken. So far the only thing they could do was try to reconstruct the machine. The state's senator had blocked him from interrogating the Professor so far. Today he came without intentions of getting permission. Today he needed answers.

Breaking possibly every traffic law the city had, he sped through downtown on his motorcycle towards the tower, with nothing but anger and determination consuming him. Exiting the tunnel that led to the tower's garage, he found Cyborg waiting for him. Robin noticed the doors, which were covered in metal plating, and realized Cyborg was right.

They were locked out.

Robin briskly walked to the door. Tapping against the wall he found hollow spot behind the wall and took off the panel, revealing a fingerprint scanner.

"Dude, why did I not know about that?"

"Had it installed when you were on a mission for a couple days; figured we might need an override someday."

Taking off his glove and pressing two of his fingers against it, the machine glowed yellow for a second and flashed red.

"What?" Robin said to himself. He pressed his fingers to it again. Then his other hand, but to no avail. Beast Boy walked in from where he was standing with Starfire outside.

"Hey Robin," Beast Boy said "The guy just dropped these off the roof." His hand extended with a bundle of black and white striped wires in it.

"Gaaah," Robin turned and kicked the wall. "Those connect to the security systems."

"Oh yea," Beast Boy continued, "he also wanted to talk to you, he's on the roof."

Robin rushed out of the garage to where Starfire was, with Beast Boy and Cyborg following just behind.

"Where are you!?" he yelled, looking up at the roof and squinting his eyes because of the sun. A small head poked over the side of the building.

"I heard you rebuilt the machine." The Professor yelled back.

_Of course we haven't, not completely at least. After all, the machine began smoking just after Raven disappeared; and everything inside of it was melted together into chucks of rubber, metal, and cheap circuits. _Robin thought, but of course he wouldn't say that. _Best to play along_.

"What of it?"

"I need it."

"Why would you think-" Robin was cut off.

"Look, I need it just as badly as you. Leave your weapons here and go to the main door." He yelled, his voice getting scratchy and dry. "If you don't, you'll never be able to get to the world where she was sent."

"What makes you so sure?"

"It took me years to create it, do you think a teenager would just be able to get it working on the first try? That is, after all, the only chance you get."

Deep inside Robin knew he was right. All the Titans could do, thanks to that cursed senator, was rebuild the machine. They didn't know how it worked or how to control it. Quite frankly, it was suicide to try it without the Professor, despite the Titan's hatred of him. Robin unlatched his utility belt and let his bo staff slide to the ground along with his other weapons.

"Alright, now come to the door." He said as Robin walked slowly to the large double door. Being twice as tall as Cyborg, they were now very imposing to him as he had no control over the tower. The two ton door swung open easily on well balanced and greased hinges. With light feet he walked into the main hall and turned to the elevator, pressed the roof symbol, and waited as it accelerated up skywards.

"Look, I know you don't trust me, you have every right, but we both need that machine right now." The Professor said quickly as he saw the elevator doors slowly open.

He was different, Robin noted. Not the borderline insane man they had seen only days ago; but now more subdued. Like a man who had lost his purpose but still held a glimmer of hope for the future. It was then that Robin realized he wasn't a threat. In fact, he had not tried to directly kill any of them during their battle, unlike the other villains of Jump City. That was something that had been bothering Robin for the past few nights. But what on earth could make the hysterical man they had seen only days before turn into this one?

"You're going to have to give us a good explanation. You're asking us to help build the machine that you used against us." Robin said, his body, a weapon in itself, tensed and ready for anything.

"Because we have both lost somebody, and we both need it to get them back." The professor said over the wind, quickly but desperate.

Robin was shaken by that response from him. He was ready for _almost_ anything. He had never considered that the machine was built as a tool, as a way to help. No, instead he had seen it as a weapon, something that would be used to move armies onto unsuspecting lands.

"Why should we trust you?"

"Her name was Renee Hanley. She was my wife, please, give me a chance; I can explain this, all of it." He was practically begging at this point. Even Robin, who had been trained to ignore this, felt pity for the man before him. If he had lost somebody close, and was using the Machine to get them back, then he must know the pain the team had gone through during the past week. In fact, he must've known that pain for much longer. A machine like that takes years of dedication to build; furthermore, the entire thing appeared to be built by hand when Robin and Cyborg examined what was left of the wreckage. He, no doubt, also designed it. Thorough research by Cyborg had shown that nothing of this type has been built before. The only thing that he could find was "theories" about how it might work, but no designs that the Professor could have used. This man must've been a genius when he was in his prime.

"Then you had better start explaining, every last detail." Robin said as he flipped open his communicator and called the rest of the team into the tower.

It was no more than an hour away from noon when Raven spotted an island on the horizon. She set the disc down on a secluded beach, where small pebbles replaced sand and half a dozen boulders littered the beach and the shallow water. She set Holly, who still was awake, against a boulder close to the water.

"I'm going to look for help. Will you be fine here for now?"

Holly just nodded. It was the first time either of them had spoken in over an hour and a half, instead preferring to enjoy the silence. At least that's what Raven did, and it was considerably easier because emotions coming from the other girl were few and very faint. _Curious how that is._

Raven started down a well-worn trail leading in into the woods, figuring that there must be a village at the other end. And with a village there was people, which hopefully meant a place for them to stay; a real shelter. Not a tattered tarp hung between trees or an alleyway in between long closed buildings.

She had only been walking for a few minutes, she could see smoke rising above the tree tops that were covered in a light frost. She hadn't noticed it before, but they had traveled far enough south that it was close to winter here, no more than two weeks away. She felt a cold chill on her neck. Not the kind that a stiff breeze brings, but that of cold metal against warm flesh.

"Your kind isn't welcome here." Said the voice behind her. A voice of a teenager, but it held confidence and bitterness; the voice of a teenager who had been forced to grow up much too fast.

"Mind telling me what my 'kind' is?" Raven chose her words carefully. If this was Kyoshi Island she had been told they didn't take kindly to outsiders.

"Walk forward, and don't look back." The other woman said, not answering the question. The two walked like that for a short time, the warrior's fan pressed against the back of an intruder's neck, with its sharpened edge lying flat against her skin. The warrior matched Raven's gait as they walked toward the pillar of smoke rising from the treetops.

The building they arrived to wasn't large at all, not much larger than the common room of the Tower. It was a simple design with three walls surrounding an open platform with a wooden floor. Behind the platform was an interior wall, creating a large room in between the platform and the far wall. The smoke that she had followed was coming from a fire on the far side of the building. The girl led her onto to the platform and called out a name that Raven didn't catch. Another girl exited the back room dressed in a green robe with armor over the chest. The katana at her side and her painted face did nothing to calm Raven.

"Who's this?" The girl who just existed the building asked. She had short auburn hair and wore a larger, triangular headdress opposed to the simpler one that the other wore.

"Don't know. She was on the northwest trail from the beach."

"Secure her in the dojo. I'll call back the others." The one who appeared to be the leader turned back and went to the fire. She picked up a blanket that was soaking in a small bucket of water and, spreading it out, held it over the fire stopping the smoke and then pulled it back releasing a puff of smoke. After doing this four more times she went back into the building. Meanwhile, the other girl gathered a length of rope from the building with Raven

_No, I can't be taken. Holly's still hurt, if she isn't healed soon I won't be able to stop infections. She's as good as dead if that happens, it's not like this place has modern medicine to help..._

In the main village two of the Kyoshi Warriors looked up at the smoke plume. Masa and Ko were on duty in the village that afternoon, wandering throughout the town and helping with the unloading of the merchant ships that came to the island before winter set in. Aside with breaking up the occasional bar fight, it was an easy and enjoyable shift for them. Ko looked lazily to the sky, she and Suki had been covering Holly's shift for the past fortnight that she had been gone; because of this, neither of them had been able to get for that a few hours' sleep at a time. _Not that it mattered_, Ko figured, _it's something any warrior would do for each other._ Ko and Masa looked to the bay once more scanning for ships, and started walking the short distance back to the dojo.

On the eastern side of the small island, Akiko looked disappointedly at the plume of smoke rising in sections. She was the youngest of the Warriors, but only by a few weeks. _Only on her day off_ she thought _would this happen_. Such terrible luck she had, last time she had off, nine days ago, she had to help break up a fight between some Water Tribe merchants and Earth Kingdom soldiers. Why the soldiers were even on the island she never found out; but it didn't concern her much as they never did come back. She kicked the leather ball back to the group of younger kids she was playing with and started jogging toward the smoke.

Back on the rocky beach Holly looked up at the smoke cursing under her breath. She didn't think they would call the others back when she came, they haven't before at least; which probably meant they took Raven as a threat, and she could do nothing to get there in time.

Back at the dojo Raven allowed the girl to tie her hands behind her and her feet together.

"Are you the Kyoshi Warriors?" Raven asked, still unsure if she landed on the right island.

"What of it?" She responded, pulling the knot tight behind her.

_I'll take that as a yes._ "I have a friend that's injured, she said she's one of you. That's why I'm here."

"So your friend can tell a lie."

_A lie? That can't be, could it? Impossible, the stories, the descriptions she had were so detailed, so real…_

"What makes you so sure?" Raven asked her, "Why do you think she was lying?"

"Because the only one of us that isn't here doesn't make friends very easily."

_If only I could get them to see Holly, then they would recognize her and help us. If she really isn't one of them, I can hold them off for a while. Besides, if they have never seen my powers before, there's a good chance they'll just flee._

Raven smirked as the girl turned and walked over to the wall to lean against. The ropes binding her were silently encased in black and shredded to pieces. Capturing a sheathed sword hanging from the wall with her energy, Raven launched it at the girl's back and, catching her off balance, sent her falling into the weak wall of the dojo. Raven ran out of the building and headed down the path that she was led there by. The other girl, that Raven would alter know as Suki, exited the dojo and started after her, maintaining a distance but going slower than what Raven thought she could.

_It's as if she letting me keep going…_

Raven could hear the waves against the shore, her heartbeat pounding in her ears _Azar, I should get into better shape _just then another person, dressed similarly to the others, stepped in front of her and, using her own momentum to push her against a tree, held her there until the leader and the one she pushed into the wall appeared moments later.

"Mind telling us who you are?" the leader demanded as she approached.

"I told you, I'm a friend of – "

"That's not an answer."

"Then what else do you want me to say?"

"The truth."

_Stubborn little…_

"My name's Raven, I came from a place called Jump City in the United States…" She said, repeating the words that Holly had believed when they first met.

"Raven? Odd name." said the girl who had her pinned to the tree.

"Yea Aki, it is." The girl Raven had pushed said.

"…I'm with a group called the Teen Titans, we protect our city…"

The leader gave a throaty laugh. "Look, I don't know who you are or where you're from; but talking crazy won't help you right now."

"It isn't all that crazy, you know." A weak voice said. The four girls swung their heads in shock to see Holly gripping a tree and practically doubled over in pain.

"You mean it's true?" the girl Raven had pushed said to herself.

"Damn straight." Raven mumbled as she pushed Akiko away from her and ran over to Holly.

The warriors, whose ranks now had grown to five, didn't quite know what to make of the situation until they saw Holly leaning for support on the strange newcomer. It was then they figured that if she trusted this girl, it was good enough for them too.

"So you found her on the side of a road?" Suki asked. The Warriors and Raven were sitting around a fire as the sun settled below the horizon. Raven and Holly had just finished reciting the past few days' events. Raven, who had now been introduced to all of the warriors, looked at the faces lighted by the fire. They seemed much less intimidating without the face paint on, except two of the nine women sitting around her. They had slept through their arrival and woke up within the past hour. They, Suki had explained, were covering the night shift as they rotated every week.

"Yea, carried her to the closest shelter." Holly responded as she sipped from a small cup. Raven had just finished a healing session before they sat around the fire. She had been able to lessen much of the pain, and started healing the flesh around the main burn. _One more session, _Raven thought,_ and then there isn't much more I can do; although most of it should be done by then._

"And you told her that same story about Earth and a different dimension?" Ko asked Raven, nodding in her direction.

"Yes, I guess I was lucky in coming here, many places wouldn't think twice about leaving me back on that road."

Yumiko, one of the warriors on the night shift, stood up after finishing her bowl of vegetables and walked over to the stream to rinse it out.

"Ko," she said, "you got my night shift tomorrow, remember?"

"Hey! But that's my day off!"

"Can't go back on a bet, you know that." Yumiko said before she started walking into the town carrying a lantern.

"What was it on this time Ko?" Holly asked her, knowing she would bet on nearly anything. Thankfully it was between the fellow warriors, as night shifts and weekly chores had replaced money.

"Oh, if you'd hurt yourself before you got back." Holly rolled her eyes while the other girls giggled a bit, except for Raven, who wasn't sure how to react.

An hour later, the remaining girls retired for the night.

"Raven," Suki said, the name still sounding foreign as she said it, "You can use Yumiko's hammock for now, it on the far left. We'll string up the spare one in the morning."

"Okay, thanks for letting me stay her." She responded as she went inside the building.

Holly stayed back a few minutes to help put out the fire, and get wood for the next day.

"You know, that was a pretty fantastic story that she told us."

"Yea, to think there's so many other worlds out there, worlds without bending."

"So you believe that story?"

"Completely."

"May I ask why?" Suki pressed, she wouldn't put it past the Fire Nation to try something like this, especially now that they rejected their neutrality. _Sure, her eyes and hair were an odd color, but that couldn't be too hard to fake, right? I know that not all outsiders are bad, but I'm only looking out for the island. Holly must know something. Something that caused her to trust this person without knowing her, otherwise she would never have helped her back on the road._

Holly sighed, "Well, you see, when I was very young my mother would tell me stories of a world like Raven's. They were stories of a masked man who could never be seen, but fought for justice. Stories of people who would travel the world, into jungles to discover new things. They would work so hard, and when they came back they would take what they learned and use it to help others."

Suki had nothing to say, there was nothing she could say. It wasn't the stories that shocked her, no, she had heard some amazing stories already today. It was the first time that Suki had heard anything of Holly's mother. The first time that she had ever spoken of her life before she met Hiroko, even when the old council tried to pressure her into telling or how much the villagers harassed her. Those times were years ago, and while the council had changed since then and the villagers had stopped, those times were still vivid in the memories of all the warriors.

Suki decided against questioning Raven about where she had come from, knowing that Holly would probably be strongly opposed of it. While Raven had yet to prove she could be trusted, she had healed their friend to near full health, something that would take many weeks' time normally. If anything, the Kyoshi Warriors were indebted to her.

R&R!

Much thanks to the beta.

Just realized that I would never film any of this, in fear it would turn out like the A:tla movie. I guess it'd be animated.


End file.
